In the week ending March 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial
claims was 654,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's revised
figure of 645,000. The 4-week moving average was 650,000, an increase of 6,750
from the previous week's revised average of 643,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.0 percent
for the week ending Feb. 28, an increase of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate
of 3.8 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during
the week ending Feb. 28 was 5,317,000, an increase of 193,000 from the preceding
week's revised level of 5,124,000. The 4-week moving average was 5,139,750,
an increase of 124,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 5,015,500.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 4.533 million.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted,
totaled 648,363 in the week ending March 7, an increase of 2,536 from the previous
week. There were 341,685 initial claims in the comparable week in 2008.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.8 percent during the
week ending Feb. 28, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number
for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 6,396,429, an increase
of 165,349 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.5 percent
and the volume was 3,340,432.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,179 in the week ending Feb. 28, an increase of 38 from the prior week. There were 1,949 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 211 from the preceding week.

There were 19,152 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Feb. 21, a decrease of 850 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 28,722, an increase of 813 from the prior week.

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Feb. 28 were in New York (+16,481), California (+7,765), Oregon (+4,001), Georgia (+3,313), and Wisconsin (+3,006), while the largest decreases were in Missouri (-3,350), Massachusetts (-3,263), New Jersey (-1,973), Florida (-1,559), and New Mexico (-1,005).

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA FOR REGULAR STATE PROGRAMS

Advance

Prior1

WEEK ENDING

March 7

Feb. 28

Change

Feb. 21

Year

Initial Claims (SA)

654,000

645,000

+9,000

670,000

347,000

Initial Claims
(NSA)

648,363

645,827

+2,536

605,668

341,685

4-Wk Moving Average
(SA)

650,000

643,250

+6,750

639,750

348,000

Advance

Prior1

WEEK ENDING

Feb. 28

Feb. 21

Change

Feb. 14

Year

Ins. Unemployment
(SA)

5,317,000

5,124,000

+193,000

5,120,000

2,794,000

Ins. Unemployment
(NSA)

6,396,429

6,231,080

+165,349

6,108,398

3,340,432

4-Wk Moving Average
(SA)

5,139,750

5,015,500

+124,250

4,934,250

2,780,000

Ins. Unemployment
Rate (SA)2

4.0%

3.8%

+0.2

3.8%

2.1%

Ins. Unemployment Rate
(NSA)2

4.8%

4.7%

+0.1

4.6%

2.5%

INITIAL CLAIMS FILED IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS (UNADJUSTED)

Prior1

WEEK ENDING

Feb. 28

Feb. 21

Change

Year

Federal Employees

1,179

1,141

+38

881

Newly Discharged Veterans

1,949

1,738

+211

1,558

PERSONS CLAIMING UI BENEFITS IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS
(UNADJUSTED)

Prior1

WEEK ENDING

Feb. 21

Feb. 14

Change

Year

Federal Employees

19,152

20,002

-850

15,389

Newly Discharged Veterans

28,722

27,909

+813

22,948

Railroad RetirementBoard

9,000

9,000

0

4,000

Extended Benefits

3,862

2,766

+1,096

0

EUC 2008

1,414,439

1,432,919

-18,480

0

FOOTNOTESSA - Seasonally Adjusted DataNSA -
Not Seasonally Adjusted Data1 - Prior year is comparable
to most recent data.2 - Most recent week used covered employment of 133,886,830 as denominator.